Drinking coffee and exercising may prevent skin cancer by killing off cells damaged by the sun's ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation, said a study of hairless laboratory mice published yesterday.
The coffee-exercise combination produced a "dramatic" fourfold difference in apoptosis -- the programmed death of pre-cancerous cells -- between laboratory mice that did and did not follow the regime, said the researchers at New Jersey's Rutgers University.
Researchers compared UVB radiation effects on groups of hairless mice that drank caffeinated water (the human equivalent of one or two cups of coffee a day); that exercised on a running wheel; that had caffeine and ran; and a control group that had no caffeine or exercise at all.
Compared to the control group, mice that only drank coffee showed a 95 percent increase in UVB-induced apoptosis, those that only exercised showed a 120 percent increase, while those who drank and exercised showed an almost 400 percent increase.
"The differences between the groups in the formation of UVB-induced apoptotic cells -- those cells derailed from the track leading to skin cancer -- were quite dramatic," said Allan Conney, one of the study's authors.
The promising results, however, were likely due to "some kind of synergy ... still somewhat of a mystery" which, until better understood, precludes taking the research to "the next level ... human trials," he added.
Sunlight-induced skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the US, with more than one million new cases each year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
"With the stronger levels of UVB radiation evident today and an upward trend in the incidence of skin cancer among Americans," Conney said, "there is a premium on finding novel ways to protect our bodies from sun damage."
The study is published in the July 31 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese